Where is the Best Place to live in Oregon (Portland: school districts, community college)

[OAKLAND A'S]

I saw brookings, oregan . Stayed there a week loved it's rainy weather, but work is what's I'am thinking about ,is the construction in portland going good . In Ca. is starting to pick up .

[brahmanhuber]

I'm enjoying this board and have a better idea of what I'm looking for. Thanks, everyone!

I'm looking for a small town west of Portland. My husbands work is generaly available anywhere so a mediocre job market is fine. I need good schools, grade school through high school. I'm very comfortable with "boonies" but I need to be near a public transportation to the city as I'll be commuting to college the first few years. We'd like a laid back community with some diversity and low crime. The financial situation of the community is not as important as avoiding a snobish area.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by brahmanhuber

I'm enjoying this board and have a better idea of what I'm looking for. Thanks, everyone!

I'm looking for a small town west of Portland. My husbands work is generaly available anywhere so a mediocre job market is fine. I need good schools, grade school through high school. I'm very comfortable with "boonies" but I need to be near a public transportation to the city as I'll be commuting to college the first few years. We'd like a laid back community with some diversity and low crime. The financial situation of the community is not as important as avoiding a snobish area.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Your requirements are somewhat mutually exclusive.

"Boonies" in Oregon, typically don't have good schools or public transportation.

West of Portland is Beaverton/Hillsboro/Tigard, all of which have 80k+ population, a few small towns outside of them, and then National Forest with for 50+ miles to the coast.

Then your requirement of being within commute distance of a college is going to limit you even more.

Then there is the whole diversity thing....

But your best combination is probably going to be Hillsboro or Beaverton. Schools are slightly better then PDX, easy commute via MAX to PDX, with access to multiple Colleges, and the most diversity/lower crime rates.

Snobbish areas tend to be certain enclaves within larger cities, no single city would I call snobbish per say, other then maybe Lake Oswego.

Now you say your husbands work is generally anywhere, but what does he need specifically?

[brahmanhuber]

Hubby works with devlopmentaly disabled individuals and supliments his income with personal training. My income has always been primary and we wiill have to use student loans for some of our living expenses.

Haha, I hadn't looked at those as mutualy exclusive, but you're right. You did manage to hit the important things on the head, so thanks for your help and insight!

We have a 4 yo and teens so all aspects of the education is important, but we do want to keep a quiet lifestyle. I think that will result in renting for a year to decide where we want to buy. I'm sure we'll end up with something on the edge of town.

[YOK]

Hi everyone!... My husband and I are planning to move to Oregon this year. I'm an architect I study in Peru but I have my Bachellor's degree equivalence from US. He is studing in the Art Institue right now. I don't know wich part form Oregon will be the best for looking any architectural job. If someones knows please help me and let me know where will be the best place to work in architecture there and also a good place to live.
We accept any tips that any can have!
Thank you!!!
YOK.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by YOK

If someones knows please help me and let me know where will be the best place to work in architecture there and also a good place to live.

Based on research trying to help other architects who are interested in moving here, the answer is "nowhere."

There are only two or three jobs opened at any one time looking for architects, usually in Portland. Both architects that I know personally work in space planning.

[dingodina]

Eugene, the "Emerald City"

I lived in Eugene, Oregon for 33 years. When I moved there In the 70's it was an amazingly interesting, scenic, cheap, health-oriented college town of 50,000. Then it tripled in size, changed character, housing prices skyrocketed, and I left in 2006. Don't know what its like now, but....

I can swear, that If you move there expect RAIN and/or CLOUDY SKIES just about every day for 9 months a year, October through June. In 33 years, it snowed about three times. Usually staying 1 to 3 days. Once it lasted about a week. Summers are hot and dry (80's, occasionally low 90's). There is usually a drought in July & August and part of September.

Sometimes in winter you may see streaks of silvery sun appear from behind a cloud in the late afternoons, or you will have an occasional day without precipitation, but mostly it's just rain, rain, rain. Really. You learn to do everything in the rain. Tennis, biking, running, errands, yard work, you name it. You will usually have wet feet. (Oregonians call it "webbed feet".) Some people get depressed because of lack of sunshine. There is a long-standing joke that Oregonians don't tan in the summer, they rust.

Because it is so wet, there is the problem with mold and mildew. It grows on the walls of your house, inside and out. Grass grows out of car bumpers and rain gutters. I've seen mushrooms sprout on the carpeting in my friend's car. My shoes turned green on the floor in my closet. So make sure you choose a house with good veltilation.

Also, the Willamette Valley is noted for it's high-pollution count. Many people develop allergies while they live there. I used to work in a health clinic so I know.

I don't wish to hear back any rebuttles about how beautiful the rain is. I have had much experience appreciating it in all of its many sparkling displays. If you are a fern or a slug or a salamander, you will thrive in the Willamette Valley. If you are a human, you will just have to wait and see. Its such a vibrant town maybe you won't mind the rain.

[Random_Walk]

Meh - rain is rain. If you hate rain, I humbly suggest Utah (it rains like maybe once a year - otherwise you get snow or sun in massive quantities,depending on time of year).

In Western Oregon though, you'll have to get used to the idea of being rained on. Eastern Oregon is a lot drier, but sparsely populated. The cool part is, you can get a bit of everything in the deal: coast, city, mountain, farmland... all within about 100 miles of each other. The rest means looking around to see what suits you, and what you can find.

[spyria]

My husband and I want to move from Utah to Oregon. We are 24 years old. We are planning on building a house when we move, but we can't decide where. We want to start a family in Oregon. We want a decent drive to Portland and a 60 minute drive or less to the coast. We want an area with a lot of nature and a small town feel, but not hickish. We are both high school teachers and would like to open up a bakery. We want to live in an area secluded from neighbors, but we don't want a long commute. We want an area that provides nature, such as Hiking, biking, canoeing, etc but also a place for shopping and fun activities. What city would you recommend?

[Rob Allen]

Maybe McMinnville, Forest Grove, Monmouth, or even Corvallis, depending on how small a small town you want.

I hope you have enough capital for a few years to get your bakery established. With education budgets being slashed, you don't have much of a chance of getting teaching jobs anywhere in Oregon.